Unexpected
by LovelyLytton
Summary: Sometimes the whispers get to her. SilMil.


**Unexpected**

They called her promiscuous. They called her a whore. The injustice of it made her spine tingle and her fingers curl. All night long, she had received looks of disdain, from everyone from the servers to the ministers. The Venusian witch, they whispered, she is the worst of them all. They might as well scream it into the night, she thought with more than a little resentment and yearned to be back on the Moon where people looked at her and saw her for who she was.

The General they all admired, their beloved heavenly king, Endymion's strongest guardian, him they called a pillar of society, a role model for warriors and noblemen alike. They said that had destiny not called him forth to serve his king, he would have become a priest, his tall back bowed in serene prayer for their world. Now, the people of the Golden Kingdom would have to wait until he had died a glorious death on the battlefield before they could call him a saint without it being blasphemy.

Venus leaned back against the tree and snorted.

Kunzite was anything but a priest, and he would never be a saint. She knew that he had fucked Jupiter against this very tree three nights ago, that he had kissed Mercury in the shadows of the temple on Beltane, and had danced the night away with Serenity when he had been invited to the Moon Kingdom's annual Yule ball. What had happened after the ball, she did not know. Her princess's secrets were sacred, and if Serenity was no longer a virgin, Venus didn't want to know.

Tonight, he had his eyes set on Mars. She hoped her fiery friend would burn him to crisps, but feared that she would do anything but. Mars – like the people on Earth – saw something spiritual in him, believed to recognise the priest he could not be because of his destiny. In short, she saw the saddest and most important part of herself in Kunzite's green eyes, and Venus was quite certain that she wouldn't be able to resist this sort of understanding.

"You do now that the conference is taking place inside, don't you?" a familiar voice called to her.

The corners of her mouth lifted. "I needed some air, Lord Jadeite. It was getting stuffy inside."

He chuckled, and reached out to touch some of the tree's green leaves as he neared. "You couldn't stand to watch it, could you?"

She contemplated to feign ignorance, but something kept her from it. Maybe it was her honour, maybe it was stupidity. "She's too good for him," she muttered instead, and stared at the dark velvet sky.

Jadeite rolled his eyes. He had spent weeks staring longingly at the sky, and was now for all intents and purposes done with it. So he kept his eyes fastened on the blonde leaning against the ancient oak. Silence danced around them for a while, before he spoke up again.

"She's too good for everyone, me included." Instinctively, Venus reached over and clasped his gloved hand in hers. "No, not for you," she said softly, and her blue eyes were only too knowing. He snatched his hand back as if she was the one who could burn people with a single touch.

"Don't pity me."

"I wouldn't dare to."

Venus leaned back against the tree, feeling the coarse bark dig in her skin. She wasn't clad in her senshi uniform, but in a long black gown that exposed the back. She knew that she looked pretty in an unexpectedly solemn kind of way, and wondered whether that had made them hate her even more.

Changing the topic swiftly and dangerously, Jadeite took a step closer, bringing them face to face.

"Why hasn't he tried to conquer you?"

She laughed, and it was bitter. Here they were, two friends in the darkness. One more hurt and defensive than the other. Feeling that she owed him an answer (and he had a habit of making her feel this way), she backed further into the tree, hoping that one day, it would just swallow her and end her misery. Hearing the hushed and spiteful whispers in her memory, she shrugged, the movement as minimal as telling.

"I'm too easy, aren't I?"

For a second, Jadeite could see the hopelessness in her eyes and wondered if someone as strong as Venus could be broken by something as simple as love. He hoped it wasn't so.

"Kunzite is many things, but he's no fool. He knows the rumours aren't true."

Suddenly, they could hear Nephrite's distinct laugh in the distance, and they knew the conference was going well. Venus looked at her shoes.

"And which rumours would those be?"

Her voice was light again, her always unpredictable mood changed because of Nephrite's laughter, and he knew that they had returned to their customary banter, their safe ground.

"Well, obviously, you're a whore," he dead-panned.

Her lips twitched, and her eyes twinkled. "And?"

"And a witch."

"And?"

Moving faster than lightning, he stepped towards her and kissed her nose. It was brief, and utterly unexpected. When she leaned into it, it was already over.

"And too good for him," he whispered, smiled, and turned to head back into the palace.

She remained coated in the darkness for a long time, not even noticing when surprise gave way to happiness.

**The End**


End file.
